UCF to Host Inaugural C-USA Championship Game
Game to be Played December 3 at the Florida Citrus Bowl
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Steven Moffett
Nov. 19, 2005
The inaugural Conference USA Football Championship Game presented by Xbox will be played in Orlando, Florida and hosted by UCF based on the results of Saturday's games. The Golden Knights won at Rice, 31-28, this afternoon to finish with a 7-1 league record. When UTEP lost to UAB tonight, it gave UCF the best regular season record in C-USA and the right to host the game at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
The kickoff time will be determined by ESPN, which will be televising the game nationally. UCF's opponent will either be UTEP (8-2, 5-2) or Tulsa (7-4, 6-2). If UTEP wins on Saturday at SMU, the Miners will tie Tulsa for the West Division championship and will earn the berth based on a head-to-head victory over the Golden Hurricane. If UTEP loses, then Tulsa will win the West Division outright and face UCF in the championship game.
Under the guidance of second-year head coach George O'Leary, the Golden Knights (8-3 overall) are the most-improved team in Division I-A this season and are one victory away from posting the largest improvement in NCAA history. UCF has become just the seventh team in NCAA annals to become bowl-eligible just one season after going winless. The Golden Knights will enter the league championship having won eight of its last nine games.
"UCF has become one of the top stories in college football this season," said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "We are very pleased to be holding our inaugural championship in Orlando and we look forward to an outstanding atmosphere at the Florida Citrus Bowl."
For ticket information, please contact the UCF ticket office at 407-823-1000 or visit
http://www.ucfathletics.com/tickets. <a href='http://conferenceusa.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111905aad.html' target='_blank'>CUSA Website</a>